Looking to own an F-Type S very soon!

A

alistair64

New member
Hi All
Just sold my S2000 Honda... a truly great car and now looking to take a step upwards.
I've loved my S2000 and have always admired the F-Type as I thought it followed similar, although much beefier, lines.

My criteria are:-
Cabriolet/Convertible
375 HP (S model)
Under 30k miles
Preferably 2015 onwards
Colour: Firestone Orange (rare) or Italian Racing Red.
Options seem overwhelming, so not fussed about the alloys, but would like it to be a bit different inside, i.e. black/cream leather, instead of the usual black.
I know, not asking a lot!

Any advice would be much appreciated in terms of what I should be looking for regarding reliablility, as I'm not familiar with the car but understand that the early examples had issues.
Around the 35K mark is my budget, maybe a bit more, but hopefully a bit less so I have some funds aside for potential problems.
Am I being unrealistic with my expectations?

Thanks in advance.
Alistair
 
Hi Alistair,
Welcome to the forum.
I see your criteria is for a S model and reliability is a major concern for you. I would definitely suggest you test drive a base model and compare it to a S to see if the base model meets your requirements and you will obviously get more vehicles to choose from if you don't eliminate it from your search. Your not far away with your budget from a 2.0 model from a Jaguar dealer with a Jaguar warranty, might not be for you but no harm in having a test drive, you might find you love it, if nothing else I'm sure it will be fun😀
Good luck in your search and enjoy.
Gazza.
 
Good luck with your search. History checks are available here.

I also wouldn't be worried about cars with more miles as long as they have been serviced correctly, oil, diff, plugs etc. I'm at 5yrs and 38,000 miles and nothing mechanical to report.
 
HI, i have a v6s convertible 15 plate, had it about 15 months now haven't done loads of miles as its a weekend car, no problems too report so far and I absolutely love the car. Your making a good choice.
 
Scz4 on here is selling his:
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6144

Edit: Oh sorry, just noticed the mileage is higher than you wanted.
 
Many thanks guys for your very helpful comments. I'm already realising that this forum will be a great place to be in the future :)
Gazza, yes I will try to get a test drive in a lower powered model. What you say makes sense and I may decide it is what I'm after and will broaden the range of cars available for certain.
Interesting to hear that higher mileage models should not be excluded, so I will certainly take that on board too.
Ideally, I would love to buy a car from this forum as you know it will have been cherished and maintained correctly.
I have to confess that I drove 2 hours to view a V6-S today, as my other half persuaded me that at least it would be a learning experience.
She was not wrong!

Thoughts please... it was a 2015 model with 30K miles, but I immediately noticed a ticking noise from the top-end, which I could hear with the bonnet down.
Not hugely loud, but noticeable to me and I would not have expected it as my S2000's engine was as quiet as a mouse.
Also, corrosion on the wheel centre caps, as well as alloys which had clearly been repaired and resprayed, as the valves and caps hadn't even been masked off.
Not the car for me, but like I say, a learning experience and at least I got to test drive it, although only a short distance and no more than 40 MPH.
The unleashed power was, however, very evident and it made me realise I was doing the right thing :D

Thanks, Navigator, for posting that link.
The car looks very nice and the mileage wouldn't be a concern, but too far away unfortunately.
Must update my profile, but I'm in Daventry, Northants.
 
The V6 don't have lifters and tap when cold. All tapping noises should stop when warm.
 
I’m only down the road near MK, happy to meet up Towcester way if you want some more info and to see what a base V6 is like.
Power delivery is very similar on the base V6 and the V6S - more important to get good spec and service history imo.
 
That would be great, Tjp....much appreciated.
Can we look at next weekend if convenient to you?
It would be good to get some knowledge about the F-Type.
Somewhere like Tesco's car park in Towcester, which is just off the A5?
 
alistair64 said:
The car looks very nice and the mileage wouldn't be a concern, but too far away unfortunately.
Must update my profile, but I'm in Daventry, Northants.
Click to expand...

A good one's worth travelling for 😉. I went from Belfast to near Birmingham for mine.
 
I'm sure you already figured that out but apart from the 40 horses near the top end some important differences between the base car and the S are the adaptive dampers and LSD. I've never driven a base car but have seen back to back tests of the base vs S where the adaptive dampers and LSD apparently made a noticeable difference in ride, handling and power delivery.
 
MajorTom said:
I'm sure you already figured that out but apart from the 40 horses near the top end some important differences between the base car and the S are the adaptive dampers and LSD. I've never driven a base car but have seen back to back tests of the base vs S where the adaptive dampers and LSD apparently made a noticeable difference in ride, handling and power delivery.
Click to expand...

Interesting, so the 335 HP model doesn't have a LSD?
Surprising on such an expensive car.

I am still looking at the S model, but who knows, I could be persuaded otherwise.
Incidentally, regarding my earlier comment about the ticking engine on the first car I viewed, I went to see another yesterday.
Same mileage, give or take 1000, newer by 3 years, but definitely no ticking sound from the top end when started from cold.
Altogether a much nicer example, but unfortunately slightly out of my price bracket - isn't that always the way! :(
 
alistair64 said:
Incidentally, regarding my earlier comment about the ticking engine on the first car I viewed, I went to see another yesterday.
Same mileage, give or take 1000, newer by 3 years, but definitely no ticking sound from the top end when started from cold.
Altogether a much nicer example, but unfortunately slightly out of my price bracket - isn't that always the way! :(
Click to expand...

Aww, go on - we always buy the cheapest car we can't afford! :lol:
 
Exactly, no LSD on the base cars. Mind you, apart from that the S cars tend to come better equipped with bigger brakes and other toys which were optional on the base cars. That said an S is usually a safe bet when it comes to equipment. Concerning the age of the car, also bear the earlier cars' infotainment and sticky interior in mind.

As scm says, going for the one slightly out of your price bracket is usually the way to go. :) With all my three Jags including this one I ended up buying a nicer, better, newer and more expensive car than I initially aimed at, and I'm so happy I did! :D
 
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